whats a "service failure" ?

Service failure means not making a delivery as dispatched. Usually it means not arriving for your appointment (late or not at all). Say you get lost and arrive at a customer after they close or the day after they expected their freight.

A service failure isn't usually a firing offense, unless it's the last straw or the driver is too much trouble and the failure is a convenient excuse to dump him. If the cause is a driver being stupid or careless it might generate a "write-up" or be noted in your "permanent school record."

No I don't know what some particular company will do for being late due to weather or traffic. And no, unlike every listener to truck driving radio, I don't see this as part of the New World Order or the coming apocalypse.

 

a little confused...why would they give you a service failure for arriving too early? Isnt early good in the world of deliveries?

 

Not in all cases. Sometimes being early can be just as bad as being late.

Example:

You arrive at a reciever and check in at 0630 for a 0800 appoitment time, and the reciever has limited dock space. The reciever has two options;

1) give you a dock, but in return that would make the trucks with a 0700 appoitment time late.

2) tell you to wait. Depending on the size of their yard, having you wait would put you in everyone elses way.

Always communicate. If you're early, let your dispatcher and the customer know. If you're late, let your dispatcher and the customer know. If you're on time, let your dispatcher and customer know. Comminucating will avoid all service failures.

 

I sorta understand...it could cause an inconveince to the shipper/reciever BUT I would rather be invonveinced by someone being early than late....late snowballs through the rest of the day and causes BIG ISSUES. Like I said I do understand to a point, but the driver shouldnt be dinged for being early....just my opinion

 

Depending on the circumstances, being early will make other drivers late; who were previously on time.

 

JIT loads.
Just In Time

I get quite a few of these type loads.
The customer needs the delivery 'just in time', or it will throw their production off.

Beverage canners are a prime example. They have to keep the production lines moving at a constant rate. Arrive too early and they can't take you, because the cans you have are for a later run of a different product. Arrive too late, and they have to actually shut down the plant because they don't have the correct cans for the product.

If you get one of these loads it is better to sit on it for a few hours, or a day, rather than get that service failure.
Get too many, and you will be looking for a different company to work for.

 

so the answer would be sit around the corner somewhere and wait...costing you and your company time/money...i do see all points tho and how both early/late can cause issues

 

If Im early for appointment I usually just say LOOK YOURE TAKING THIS FREIGHT AND YOURE TAKING IT NOW then I waddle my 500 lb ### back to my Pete and smoke a cigar, back into a dock and play Haulin 18 Wheels Of Steel on my PC.